UC Santa Cruz has surpassed the $50 million goal for its first-ever campuswide fundraising effort, Chancellor Denice D. Denton announced Wednesday at the March meeting of the UC Regents in Los Angeles.
| Listen to Chancellor Denton's presentation to the Board of Regents and view her PowerPoint presentation. |
"This unprecedented level of support for UC Santa Cruz is a tribute to the reputation of our faculty and to the achievements of our students, staff, and alumni," Denton told the Regents. "With state funds supplying only about a third of the UC Santa Cruz budget, this generous support is critical."
Formally announced in November 2004 at the UCSC Scholarships Benefit Dinner, the Cornerstone Campaign got an immediate boost when the dinner raised $1 million-double the amount from the previous year's event-for student scholarships and fellowships.
The ambitious Cornerstone Campaign will benefit all aspects of UC Santa Cruz, with a special emphasis on undergraduate and graduate student support. Availability of financial aid is a decisive factor in college choice, and an increasing number of UCSC students need financial assistance. In 2003-04, UCSC provided financial support for nearly 8,000 undergraduates.
"Every gift makes a difference, and we are grateful to every one of our donors for their vote of confidence in the unique experience that is UC Santa Cruz," said Ronald P. Suduiko, vice chancellor for University Relations.
Fundraising support for UC Santa Cruz has been climbing steadily in recent years, with the campus raising a record $32.2 million in private support in 2003-04. That total included $2.4
million for student support, a 174 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.
Gordon Ringold, chairman and CEO of SurroMed and contributor of the largest outright gift from a UC Santa Cruz alumnus, chairs the Cornerstone Campaign Council.
"The success of this initiative represents a milestone for the campus, and is especially heartening as UC Santa Cruz celebrates its 40th anniversary," he said. "Alumni, students, faculty, and staff worked together to accomplish this goal, and I expect even greater achievements in the next decade."
The campaign's largest gift was $17.5 million from the Moore Foundation to UCO/Lick Observatory, which is directing the UC initiative on phase two of a project to build the world's most powerful telescope. The Moore Foundation also gave $4 million to support ocean research.
UC Santa Cruz Foundation trustee and alumna Kit Mura-smith contributed the largest single donation ever given by one of the alumni. She has designated an irrevocable charitable trust to be equally split between enhancing the university's library facilities and providing scholarships for re-entry students.
Among other notable gifts, the campus received a $6.5 million real estate gift from Texas Instruments as part of the purchase of facilities at 2300 Delaware Street, Santa Cruz. The property was formerly occupied by Texas Instruments as a fabrication plant.
Funding for engineering scholarships also increased dramatically with the gift of $1 million from the Barbara Snader estate for engineering scholarships for women.
The success of this Cornerstone Campaign lays the foundation for aggressive planning of a comprehensive fundraising campaign. In her remarks to the UC Regents, Chancellor Denton emphasized that "the power of private philanthropy generates more than funds-it supports innovation, unites the campus community, and transforms lives."
For more information about private fundraising at UC Santa Cruz, please contact University Relations, (831) 459-2501, or go to giveto.ucsc.edu.
